Brian Burns still feels blessed despite not finding wins he hoped for after Panthers trade

Brian Burns didn’t think he was getting traded from one rebuilding team to another.When the Panthers and Giants executed a blockbuster deal in March, Burns was hopeful that coming to New York meant more than just a five-year, $141 million extension.Maybe he was finally moving out of the phase of his career where he puts up big numbers but the team loses anyway.Instead, Burns’ old team and his new team both have 2-7 records entering their clash Sunday in Germany.“Going into a new situation, you always want to look on the positive side of things,” Burns said after Wednesday’s practice.

“But football is football, and this is how it goes.Sometimes, it’s how the cards fold.

Overall, it’s still a blessed position I’m in.”Burns expected to spend his whole career with the Panthers, especially after they rejected a trade offer of two first-round picks from the Rams in 2022.He was mistaken, but he isn’t going to make this game about proving the Panthers wrong for never finalizing an extension or trash-talking the friends he has kept in Carolina.“It’s not a revenge game.

It’s just another game,” Burns said.“Personally, I have my own thoughts about it.

But I’m not going to make it any bigger than [that] line and everything’s going to be about it.I’m going to prepare the same way and plan to get a win in Germany.”Burns staged a short-lived holdout before playing on the fifth-year option in 2023.

A general manager change happened after the season, he was franchise-tagged to keep him off free agency, and the Giants came trying to remake their identity by redirecting dollars from running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney to the pass rush.“I wouldn’t say a surprise,” Burns said.“You could kind of feel the direction it was going in.”Giants general manager Joe Schoen and his Panthers counterpart, Dan Morgan, are longtime friends and former colleagues whose families vacation together.

So, a second-round pick, a fifth-...